Getting started with content

When developing your business messaging and content, start by clarifying your business goals. Then you can align your messaging strategy with your goals to achieve your desired outcomes.

Of course, your first goal is getting visitors to read your content. Your content strategy should include plans for using benefit-laden messages and ensuring content quality. This checklist can help you get started.

Start with a needs analysis

Define your target customer and their most important needs.

Align your customers’ needs with content topics.

Determine what keywords are appropriate for the content topics.

Define a goal (desired outcome) for each page of your site.

Write and edit your content

Write the topic-focused content that addresses your customers’ goals. Include a call to action.

Edit and organize the content so that it’s very easy to read. Make sure you have:

Searchable, benefit-oriented headlines that use your target words.

Scannable content that provides a solution, such as tips and resources.

Zero jargon. Simplify your content as much as possible. Be clear and concise.

Read your content out loud. People want to read content quickly, so make sure it flows.

Test readability and page load

Run some simple readability tests on your content to see if you can further improve its consumability. Try this readability test at Editcentral.com. This will help you identify jargon so you can remove it.

Test your page speed. If it’s not fast, you’ll lose readers. Try the free page load test at Pingdom.com. It tells you your page-load time and how fast it is compared to other tested websites. Shoot for 2 seconds or less.

Start tracking visitors

Get a Google Analytics account and start tracking your web visitors. Which pages are they visiting and how long? How are they getting there? Do they sign up for offers? Once you have actionable metrics, you can refine and develop your content to meet your business goals.